Did an overdose of prescription painkillers were responsible for the death of a Swiss expat Herbert Klutz?

The wife of the 58-year-old believes so.

A drug overdose is the most likely cause of death, police in Phuket believe after a 33-year-old Swedish man was found dead in the bathroom of a house he was sharing with a friend.

The friend, an Australian woman named Kimberly Ficmar, called the police after she had found the body of her Swedish friend, Nils Martin Sebastian Nilsson (33), lying motionless on the floor of the bathroom. Police officers of Phuket Provincial Police Station and rescue workers of the Phuket Ruamjai Rescue Foundation rushed to the house in Muu 4 in Si Sunthon subdistrict after receiving the call at around 21:30 on Monday night.

“We found the body of Mr Nilsson on the floor outside of the bathroom,” deputy chief of investigations Pol Lt Col Natapop Pongsaban told The Phuket News.

“His head was resting on a pillow and pointed to the bathroom door. He was already dead when we arrived.”

According to the article, Mr Nilsson, who was involved in surfing volunteer activities in Choeng Thale district, had an open laceration on his forehead and blood coming out of his nose.

“In the crook of the arm, we saw what appeared to be needle punctures,”

Pol Lt Col Natapop described the results of a brief examination.

“We also found a soup spoon and a used syringe in a shoulder bag inside the bathroom.”A small package of a powder which the police report said resembled cocaine was also discovered amongst the foreigner’s belongings. In addition to paraphernalia consisting of foil paper and a lighter which is often used to inhale drugs, investigators also found asthma medication, a camera, a mobile phone, a key for a motorbike and its registration book in the bag.

“Ms Ficmar told us that Mr Nilsson had arrived at the house at around 17:00 earlier that day. Both of them were staying in the house, which she said belonged to a female friend who is currently overseas.”At 20:20, Ms Ficmar was on the computer on the first floor when Mr Nilsson told her he was going to take a shower, she reported. When he had still not returned more than one hour later, Ms Ficmar went to the bathroom to check on him.

“The door was locked. Ms Ficar said she used a spare key to open it and then found his body lying on the floor with his face down. His hands were behind his back,” Pol Lt Col Natapop quoted the woman. “She then reportedly moved him outside the bathroom and started to administer first aid.”

When Pol Lt Col Natapop interviewed friends of Mr Nilsson the following day, he found out that the Swiss man had a history of drug abuse.

“Other people who knew him said he appeared depressed since January when his mother died.”“We suspect that Mr Nilsson died of a drug overdose. However, we are still waiting for the results of the analysis regarding the substance we have found in his bag and the autopsy report from Thalang Hospital before we can come to an official conclusion,”

Pol Lt Col Natapop announced.

The Swedish Embassy has already been informed of the incident and forwarded the sad news to Mr Nilsson’s relatives, police confirmed.

Did an overdose of prescription painkillers

were responsible for the death of a Swiss expat?

The wife of the 58-year-old believes so.

Herbert Klutz, a 58-year-old expatriate from Switzerland, was found dead by his wife Wijidra Klutz on the bed of their rented house in Chiang Dao district of Chiang Mai province on Thursday morning.

“We were notified of the incident at about 11:20 via radio,” Pol Lt Col Banawut Chotpong told reporters. “The only information we received was that a foreigner had died at his home.”

Pol Lt Col Banawut and Pol Capt Kongdet Baenjankiao, both investigators from Chiang Dao Provincial Police Station, were sent to the two-storey house at 456 Mu 1 in Chiang Dao subdistrict. A doctor from Chiang Dao Hospital and volunteers of a local rescue foundation accompanied the police.

When officers arrived on the scene, the wife led them to the bedroom on the second floor. “We found Mr Klutz laying on the bed with his face up,” Pol Lt Col Banawut, who is leading the investigation, said later that day.

“He was dressed wearing only navy-blue shorts and no t-shirt. The skin had already turned white.”

Police believe Mr Klutz had been dead for about one hour before officials arrived.

“We questioned the wife, Mrs Wijidra, who told us that her husband had been suffering from a heart-related condition and a herniated disc.”

To treat his diseases, Mr Klutz frequently visited Chiang Dao Hospital but started to complain about severe pain shortly afterwards.

To ease the pain, doctors had prescribed Mr Klutz “a very strong painkiller” which police did not describe further.

“He always took a lot of tablets because he was in so much pain and lost his appetite,”

Mrs Wijidra told investigators. “I think he took too much and eventually overdosed,” she suspected.

Farang Deaths consulted a doctor at Siriraj Hospital who said that painkiller overdoses are far from uncommon.

“Based on his wife’s observations, the drug Mr Klutz was using was most likely a strong opiate such as morphine or oxycodone,”

the doctor said on the condition of anonymity.

“Opiates and opioids are among the most effective painkillers available these days. However, a heavy overdose can cause respiratory depression and hypoxia which can lead to full breathing arrest. Another common side effect is the loss of appetite which Mrs Wijidra had already mentioned.”

According to Mrs Wijidra’s statement, the couple had married over ten years ago and had been living in Chiang Mai City for most of the time before moving to a rented house in the quiet subdistrict of Chiang Dao about one year ago.

Pol Lt Col Banawut suspects that Mr Klutz has died of heart failure triggered by the overdose. However, the official cause of death will be determined by pathologists at Chiang Dao Hospital, he added.